Roblox’s History of Growth
Roblox began as a small, brick-based game development engine released in the year 2006. It was developed by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel, Cassel later passing due to cancer in 2013. Gaining slow traction through 2006-2012, their main goal was to create a platform where users could build their own “worlds”. They weren’t as evil as they are now, they were simply just looking to create a platform; a kind one.
From 2013-2018, Roblox finally solidified a currency system. This introduced DevEx (Developer Exchange), allowing game developers to exchange Robux for cash. They then pivoted towards mobile devices, allowing a whole new sector of users to explore the platform. This was where most of their growth came from. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This not only shifted people to become more online, but also caused Roblox a huge spike in growth. So much so, that major brands such as Nike and Gucci decided to… make marketing hubs on it… Whatever man.
The year following that, they decided to list up on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) on March 10th, their initial market cap being about ~$42.6B and their price being around ~$69.50. They later reached ~$135 per share on the 19th of November, their market cap being around ~$89.1B.
“L’Horreur”, begins.
Greetings to all my French-ians. If that place still exists. Roblox’s major downfall began when they started making really shit decisions… which was since 2013. Coincidental, huh? Anyways, start of 2023. David Baszucki feels as if Roblox is extremely… undertalented. He wants to shift the demographic away from little kids, and move it towards mature adults. 17-24 years of age was his target. While he did feel as if kids were still a core part of Roblox, he felt as if adults could create much more high-quality content instead of children who barely know how to count to four. He wanted full-time studios who had the funding to make games, not just kids who didn’t provide any funding to the platform. This, was the beginning.
Age verification was introduced into Roblox in 2021. It wasn’t pushed that much, and only served to those who wanted to utilize DevEx, or to those who wanted to access features which were only allowed to those who gave in and submitted their ID. They utilize the vendor “Persona” (formerly utilizing “Veriff”) to do so. However, this feature would then be used in such an abusive way by Roblox, to the point where you can’t even talk to people without being verified; literally.
Persona called, said we’re not meeting quota. We need to get more people to give in their ID’s!
Roblox’s push for mature audiences didn’t come without consequence. Not only did they get older audiences, they also brought in pedophiles. Nice one. Pedophiles have existed on Roblox for many, many years, but it’s never been this bad. Recent controversy surrounding developers has come out, and even accusations which have been completely faked online; such as the controversy surrounding Zeal and Ren (I will be covering that soon.)
Ending Statement
Many people have become desensitized to situations like this because it happens so much. Not only that, people stop realizing how real real-life is. They don’t understand the weight of what they say, regardless of whether it’s online or not. Platforms like Discord and Roblox permanently log what you say, and fight real legal battles just to keep your “worthless” messages. It’s a useful way for them to profile you, and until we do something about it, it’ll only go down from here. People online say stuff to other people for no personal gain. They act as if they’re on top when there’s simply no more hierarchy. In this world, we are the bottom. The ones who hold our data are the ones who truly own our lives.
And as a little side-note to all the Roblox game developers, community managers, and others involved… please, just moderate your communities. Watch over your members, regardless of how big or small your community is. Respond to incidents right away, don’t shrug it off as a small little issue. It’s your responsibility to do something. Even if there’s no consequence for not doing anything, it only ruins your image in someone’s eyes. You have a duty, and unless you swear to it, you will only be the same person everyone used to see you as: Unfaithful.
Bye.
Sources
A machine was used to generate the statistics. It’s called a calculator. This post was fact-checked by two individuals before release.